Art Wolfswift Another day, another dead body. I thought leaving the MPD would allow me to get away from this type of work. I guess you can never leave some things behind. We've been walking all day and my legs don't get the same mileage they once did, still, I stand outside the car dealership keeping watch for any potential threats, threats I'll have to take care of the only way I know how. I see no imminent threats, and I've been on full alert all day. I allow myself a few moments and close my eyes. It's nice not looking for danger in every surface, face, and corner. It's nice not looking at anything at all. It feels peaceful. The crew I'm traveling with are a bunch of kids. Nice kids, sure, but kids have a tendency to get themselves killed. Dahvin's a good solider, which is always nice to have on your side, but he can be a hothead. Letting emotions get the best of you never leads to anything good. Then there are the two girls, Kate and Jane, I'm not exactly sure which is which. They're nice. They're pretty. But they're kids. Also, they've apparently been friends since childhood. I remember childhood. Didn't make too many friends then. A nearby squeaking sound wakes me from my rumination. Sounds like a dog, a small dog. More accurately, a puppy. Great, just what we need, more kids. And with puppies come mothers, and I know better than to get in between a bitch and her babies. I honestly feel a little bad for the dog, lord knows I know what it's like to grow up alone, but he's survived this long by himself, he should be alright. I ignore the cries for help coming from the nearby garage, something I'm apparently good at, and after a while the whimpering stops. Good. The rest of the crew file out of the dealership and show me what they found. None of it interests me. We start to get our stuff together and head out when the dog starts his crying again. Immediately the girls perk their ears up. Nothing to get the motherly juices flowing like a good old cry for help. Of course they go looking for the source of the crying. One of them claims she wants to eat it, don't know if it's worth the trouble, thing sounds tiny. Their search leads them to the nearby garage. I could stop them at any time, but I don't. Hopefully I won't regret my inaction later. With a pair of keys one of the girls found, we open the door. Surprisingly, the door still works. I'm more interested in that than the dog. As the girls go looking at a pile of rags in the corner while I walk over to the light switch. As I switch the lights on, the lights flicker for a moment, but they stay on. There's a power source around here somewhere, that's something we should definitely take a look at. As I turn around, I see the Kate with the puppy in her arms. The little guy's a runt, even missing an ear, but his tails wagging like it's going to fall off. The girls seem equally happy. “Getting late,” I say to no one in particular, “let's stay here for the night.” We all agree. After Dahvin and I take care of the corpse we left outside, I walk inside to see that the girls have started a campfire. Don't have much to cook, but at least we'll be warm for the evening. The two girls sit at the fire with the puppy between then, while Dahvin sits on the other side. I pull out my comforter and put it on the floor, but instead of sitting on it, I walk over to one of the broken windows, brisk fall air blows through it. What was intended to be a quick tactical survey turns into a bleak introspection on my current situation. Is this any better than working for the MPD? I'm still a hired bodyguard, my role is still killing others to prevent others from getting killed. Still, these people don't seem anywhere near the assholes most of my MPD bosses were. Shit, maybe I'm the boss here. I let out an audible chuckle. That's a role I'd rather not have. I turn back to the others and walk towards the fire. I sit close enough to the fire to stay warm, but far enough to be outside the group. Between bites of my old jerky I look up at the girls playing with their dog. It's nice to see long time friends bringing someone new into their circle. I continue eating and figure maybe this stop wasn't so bad after all.
Another day, another dead body. I thought leaving the MPD would allow me to get away from this type of work. I guess you can never leave some things behind.
We've been walking all day and my legs don't get the same mileage they once did, still, I stand outside the car dealership keeping watch for any potential threats, threats I'll have to take care of the only way I know how. I see no imminent threats, and I've been on full alert all day. I allow myself a few moments and close my eyes. It's nice not looking for danger in every surface, face, and corner. It's nice not looking at anything at all. It feels peaceful.
The crew I'm traveling with are a bunch of kids. Nice kids, sure, but kids have a tendency to get themselves killed. Dahvin's a good solider, which is always nice to have on your side, but he can be a hothead. Letting emotions get the best of you never leads to anything good. Then there are the two girls, Kate and Jane, I'm not exactly sure which is which. They're nice. They're pretty. But they're kids. Also, they've apparently been friends since childhood. I remember childhood. Didn't make too many friends then.
A nearby squeaking sound wakes me from my rumination. Sounds like a dog, a small dog. More accurately, a puppy. Great, just what we need, more kids. And with puppies come mothers, and I know better than to get in between a bitch and her babies. I honestly feel a little bad for the dog, lord knows I know what it's like to grow up alone, but he's survived this long by himself, he should be alright. I ignore the cries for help coming from the nearby garage, something I'm apparently good at, and after a while the whimpering stops. Good.
The rest of the crew file out of the dealership and show me what they found. None of it interests me. We start to get our stuff together and head out when the dog starts his crying again. Immediately the girls perk their ears up. Nothing to get the motherly juices flowing like a good old cry for help. Of course they go looking for the source of the crying. One of them claims she wants to eat it, don't know if it's worth the trouble, thing sounds tiny. Their search leads them to the nearby garage. I could stop them at any time, but I don't. Hopefully I won't regret my inaction later.
With a pair of keys one of the girls found, we open the door. Surprisingly, the door still works. I'm more interested in that than the dog. As the girls go looking at a pile of rags in the corner while I walk over to the light switch. As I switch the lights on, the lights flicker for a moment, but they stay on. There's a power source around here somewhere, that's something we should definitely take a look at. As I turn around, I see the Kate with the puppy in her arms. The little guy's a runt, even missing an ear, but his tails wagging like it's going to fall off. The girls seem equally happy. “Getting late,” I say to no one in particular, “let's stay here for the night.” We all agree.
After Dahvin and I take care of the corpse we left outside, I walk inside to see that the girls have started a campfire. Don't have much to cook, but at least we'll be warm for the evening. The two girls sit at the fire with the puppy between then, while Dahvin sits on the other side. I pull out my comforter and put it on the floor, but instead of sitting on it, I walk over to one of the broken windows, brisk fall air blows through it. What was intended to be a quick tactical survey turns into a bleak introspection on my current situation. Is this any better than working for the MPD? I'm still a hired bodyguard, my role is still killing others to prevent others from getting killed. Still, these people don't seem anywhere near the assholes most of my MPD bosses were. Shit, maybe I'm the boss here. I let out an audible chuckle. That's a role I'd rather not have.
I turn back to the others and walk towards the fire. I sit close enough to the fire to stay warm, but far enough to be outside the group. Between bites of my old jerky I look up at the girls playing with their dog. It's nice to see long time friends bringing someone new into their circle. I continue eating and figure maybe this stop wasn't so bad after all.